Hi Kim, We turned to the Natural History of Orange County site to view Spider thumbnails and we thought your individual resembled the Running Crab Spider in the genus Tibellus that was pictured there, but alas, we were basing that on a single image. We then searched the genus on BugGuide and we believe you have a Slender Crab Spider, Tibellus chamberlini.

Subject: Two bugs Location: Wyoming August 11, 2016 9:48 am I have two bugs, one that appears to be a spider and one that appears to be a lady bug. The spider looking bug was found in the bathroom and the lady bug was found outside. I live in Wyoming where our climate is cold in the winters which are almost 8 months of the year and warmer summers for the rest of the year. I hope you can help me identify these bugs. Thank you. Signature: Liz Hensley

Running Crab Spider

Dear Liz, We identified your spider as a Running Crab Spider in the genus Ebo, thanks to BugEric where it states: “Philodromids are identified rather easily by the fact that their second pair of legs is longest. The genus Wbo takes this to an extreme, as that second leg is at least twice as long as all the others. Their “wingspan’ must be the greatest for their size of any spider in North America. Their body size is small, averaging between two and six millimeters depending on the species, and skewing towards the lower end of that spectrum.” According to BugGuide: “The Ebo characteristic trait is the elongated second pair of legs, which can be more than twice as long as the other legs.” BugGuide recognizes at least two species in the genus in Wyoming, though BugGuide data does not report any. Your beetle image, which we are not posting, is a Leaf Beetle in the genus Calligrapha.

Subject: Spider in Hydrangea Location: Texas May 14, 2016 9:06 pm What kind of spider is this? is it venomous or harmful? Thanks Signature: Jacob Chapman

Running Crab Spider, we believe

Dear Jacob, We believe this is a Running Crab Spider in the family Philodromidae, and possibly in the genus Philodromus which is well represented on BugGuide. According to BugGuide, the family members can be recognized because they: “tend to have the second pair of legs significantly longer than the first pair, which distinguishes them from the similar Thomisid crab spiders. In addition, thomisids have third and fourth legs that are shorter and more slender than the first two pairs of legs, while philodromid legs are subequal in length.” While Running Crab Spiders do have venom that they use to incapacitate prey, they are not considered dangerous to humans. The long first appendages, known as pedipalps, indicate your individual is a male.

Subject: ID: Happy face Ebo species? Location: San Mateo County, CA April 15, 2015 4:54 pm Hi, I’m wondering if you might be able to identify this Ebo to species – I found it a few days ago in San Mateo, California. There are very few Ebo photos online and barely any keys, but there are only eight species to choose from in North America. I am not an expert, just the finder/photographer, but I’d love to know if possible. Here’s the photo link on BugGuide: http://bugguide.net/node/view/1055794#1870794 And my original post of this spider on iNaturalist, which includes better geodata and an alternate/enhanced photo: http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/1392763 Thank you so much for doing this – ! Signature: – Robin Agarwal

Running Crab Spider

Hi Robin, Now that the contributors of BugGuide have determined that your image is a Running Crab Spider in the genus Ebo, you may get additional assistance there as well as on our site. We are posting your image and we hope our readership can contribute to your request.

Hi Daniel, As of yesterday, it was identified as Ebo evansae by Darrell Ubick, Arachnologist at the Cal Academy of Science. Thanks for your help on this! – Robin

Subject: brown spider IN MY TOILET PAPER ROLL. Location: Western PA March 27, 2013 12:13 pm Ok. So this brown nightmare spider fell out of the toilet paper roll this morning, probably because mother nature wants me dead. Can you identify this spider before I do something rash, like call a priest, or perhaps burn the house down? It was brown – it looks darker in the picture because I put it on Instagram (as proof that my house is out to kill me, and to explain to my friends and family why the next time they use my bathroom there will be a bidet in place of toilet paper). Also of note, while there SHOULD NOT be Brown Recluse in our area, there are. My son was bitten in 2009, my neighbor was bitten within days of my son, and my cousin was bitten in May 2012. Please help! Signature: Cassie

Deadly Robotic Bathroom Spider

Dear Cassie, We have just learned about an elaborate terrorist plot that involves robotic spiders that hide in bathrooms among the toilet paper. When the toilet paper is used and the spider comes into contact with areas of tender flesh, it bites the hapless human and injects a mind control substance much like the zombie venom the Emerald Cockroach Wasp uses on Cockroaches. The human then does the bidding of the terrorist cell which uses the radio receiver in the robotic spider to set into motion a plan that involves the placing of additional robotic spiders in the homes of friends and relatives. This will create a veriable army of zombies expected to bring about the downfall of the capitalist and consumer culture we have enjoyed for many years. It seems western Pennsylvania is ground zero for the attack. Consider yourself lucky to have avoided this evil plot to take over the world, at least for now.

Update: April Fools Eric Eaton provides and IDDaniel: The spider in the image is an adult male running crab spider in the family Philodromidae, probably genus Philodromus though I’d need to examine the specimen to be absolutely positive. Are you sure you want to potentially start another viral spider hoax? The arachnological community battles enough of those already. Just sayin’. Eric

Ed. Note: April Fools’ Day JokeWhile the original letter is true and unadulterated, we found it so amusing we thought we would have a bit of fun with the response. We did clue Cassie in on our intentions to run this as a prank on our readership and we sincerely hope we haven’t offended anyone.Here is our original response to Cassie: “Hi Cassie, We are working on getting your spider identified, but we got such a chuckle out of your letter that we are planning it to be our April Fools’ Day joke. We hope to get back to you really soon with an accurate ID as well as a hoax response.” For the record, male spiders are not considered dangerous and Running Crab Spiders are considered harmless.

Subject: I can’t find this guy in any books! Location: Wichita, KS October 17, 2012 6:34 pm Dear Bugman, Originally I thought this was a crab spider but it doesn’t match any of the pictures I’ve seen. Also, it lays incredibly flat when resting and appears to have feathery, white hairs on it’s back legs. I’m stumped! Thanks for your help! Signature: Matt

Running Crab Spider or Flattie???

Hi Matt, Looking at your photos and reading your description, we believe this is a Flattie in the genus Selenops. See this photo on BugGuide which reports the genus from Texas, Arizona and Florida and notes: “This genus is found throughout the tropics and subtropics worldwide and can be found in southern parts of the U.S.”Since Wichita is in southern Kansas, this is a possibility. We cannot see any examples on BugGuide with the hairy legs, but this Australian relative on the Brisbane Insect website looks very similar to your spider. We wish we could make out the eye pattern on your spider. We would love to substantiate our identification with others.

Running Crab Spider or Flattie???

Correction Courtesy of Eric Eaton: Running Crab SpiderDaniel: I believe this is actually a specimen of a Philodromus sp. (“running crab spider,” family Philodromidae). I think flatties are restricted to the southern U.S. and the tropics. Eric

I appreciate all of the information! I’m not an expert but after reviewing both pictures, I think it resembles a Flattie more. The biggest difference appears to be size and the coloration on the abdomen. Also, the feathery appendages are different than what I’ve seen online as well. I need to get a better series if pictures and perhaps use a macro lens to photograph the eyes. Matt Certified Coloring Book Professional

Thanks for the update Matt. We would tend to trust Eric Eaton’s opinion, but the photos you submitted are lacking in detail. A good photograph of the eye arrangement would be helpful. After Daniel’s book came out, he had a wild idea to do a children’s coloring book. What do you think?